Me55enger:There is one question people are forgetting to ask, perhaps the most important question that any one person is capable of asking in these circumstances:

Who the hell is CeX?

A largely second-hand entertainment dealer in the UK - pays out barely anything for a trade-in, charges full price for the second hand console. The usual.

It does confuse me a little that they'd use this as a marketing technique. On the one hand, yes they're going to look good for giving away a console. On the other hand, they're charging high prices for second-hand consoles.. and where did they get all those second-hand XBones..?

eBay say that if you've read a description and it states what it is and you buy it: END OF. The seller was completely honest, and this dipshit clearly knew what he was buying, obviously for his 4 year old - yeah ok buddy - but yet he gets his money back and a free console.

Godfuckingdammitworldstopcateringtostupidpeople ;_;

This is definitely a proportionate reaction to the situation.

Dude made a mistake, wanted his money back after falling for an intentionally misleading ad and ended up getting a free Xbox, why are people so bitter over it? It's not like he stole the bloody thing.

eBay say that if you've read a description and it states what it is and you buy it: END OF. The seller was completely honest, and this dipshit clearly knew what he was buying, obviously for his 4 year old - yeah ok buddy - but yet he gets his money back and a free console.

Godfuckingdammitworldstopcateringtostupidpeople ;_;

This is definitely a proportionate reaction to the situation.

Indeed. He certainly deserved a refund, not a free console.

He certainly doesn't deserve neutering.

EDIT: On a side note, what's the use in neutering someone who has already had a child..?

I get the need for publicity but the story should have ended when he got his refund, not getting free shit for making a mistake. He got conned out of money and doubled his profit from it, this just reeks of cheap publicity exploiting a well known fool.

eBay say that if you've read a description and it states what it is and you buy it: END OF. The seller was completely honest, and this dipshit clearly knew what he was buying, obviously for his 4 year old - yeah ok buddy - but yet he gets his money back and a free console.

Godfuckingdammitworldstopcateringtostupidpeople ;_;

This is definitely a proportionate reaction to the situation.

Indeed. He certainly deserved a refund, not a free console.

He certainly doesn't deserve neutering.

EDIT: On a side note, what's the use in neutering someone who has already had a child..?

Maybe he didn't deserve one but he got one and so what?

He didn't take it from anyone else or act like he was entitled to it, he was just given one by a company who wanted to make a goodwill gesture for the publicity.

He didn't take it from anyone else or act like he was entitled to it, he was just given one by a company who wanted to make a goodwill gesture for the publicity.

True, but as I've already said:

IAmTheToaster: That said, for me the issue is one that is seemingly being played down, as I said in my original comment: he's a 19 year old lad, the console is for him but he's used his child as a sob story. At point of release, I'd only say LEGO Marvel Super Heroes is suitable for a four year old child. I'd quite like it to come out what games he's purchased along with the console.

It feels like said goodwill gesture was born out of his claim that the console was for his kid, which I simply refuse to believe.

The moral is that a 4 year old now gets to play on an xbox because someone out there was nice enough to make up for the huge dissapointment they were subjected to.

I can't help but feel that people judge the guy harshly because he's a(very) young dad. A bunch of you probably thought it was well deserved that he got screwed over in the first place.How small a person do you have to be, to be offended by this?

Smilomaniac:The moral is that a 4 year old now gets to play on an xbox because someone out there was nice enough to make up for the huge dissapointment they were subjected to.

I can't help but feel that people judge the guy harshly because he's a(very) young dad. A bunch of you probably thought it was well deserved that he got screwed over in the first place.How small a person do you have to be, to be offended by this?

Of course he didn't deserve to get screwed over - no one does in these circumstances. But what games is that four year old going to play? Ryse? CoD:Ghosts? Assassins' Creed: 4? I don't think many would support a four year old playing those titles.

It may be unfair of me to judge based on his being a father at 15 and it's certainly unfair to be calling him "inbred" and asking for him to be neutered. But we're not going to get told what games he's bought along with the console and I feel safe in assuming that the four year old will either be enjoying games that are definitely not suitable for a kid that young (in my opinion), or not enjoying any games at all.

eBay say that if you've read a description and it states what it is and you buy it: END OF. The seller was completely honest, and this dipshit clearly knew what he was buying, obviously for his 4 year old - yeah ok buddy - but yet he gets his money back and a free console.

Godfuckingdammitworldstopcateringtostupidpeople ;_;

This is definitely a proportionate reaction to the situation.

Indeed. He certainly deserved a refund, not a free console.

He certainly doesn't deserve neutering.

EDIT: On a side note, what's the use in neutering someone who has already had a child..?

I just wanted to blow up over the situation, gotta let off some steam once in a while. Maybe if we neuter him he won't go buy a photograph of a ps4 for his 3 year old daughter that's hidden in the cupboard

One of the first life lessons i learnt came via Eve Online when i wasn't paying attention and used the 350mil i got from selling a Plex to buy a Domi when i thought i was buying a Sin (The Tech 2 Variant), through that game i learnt to check all transactions i make and it has saved me a few times (buying fake anime stuff being advertised and sold as real etc)

This guy messed up, cried about it on the internet and then not only got his money back (which i don't agree in, from what i gather he bid on it knowing it was a picture of an xbone but because it was in the video game section thought it was ok) but got a free Xbone "for his son" (Yeah his son, with its mass of child friendly day one releases (Skylanders and Angry Birds...))

All this teaches him (and others), is mess up and whine about it and someone will bail you out

So next time I'm gonna buy a picture KNOWING it says PICTURE, acting like a completely stupid person, and I'm gonna get free stuff? Really?

Little Duck:See a lot of people are ragging on this guy for falling for this con, but if it happened to anyone else here and it probably could, we wouldn't be laughing. Let us not forget the ipod photo con or the other people who bidded on the item in question.

But there was no con, con would've been someone selling the picture saying "this is a console I'm selling" but it said "this is a picture". Someone being stupid doesn't make it a con by any means.

Teoes:Hmm, so what we do to scam our way to success is as follows: create fake eBay account -> set up listing for photo of console -> switch accounts, bid and win -> pay, get refund, lose fake account -> cry to media -> free console -> PROFIT!

Am I doing it right? No, because that's not how things should be functioning.

The lesson I learn from this is indeed that stupidity gets rewarded. Nice guys finish last and all the rest of it. My energy company switch-over is taking three times longer than I was told it should and I'm getting no compensation for the trouble - I've just got to suck up the higher bills in the process. Clearly I need to get some (inter)national attention on the matter. Being litigious is the way forward.

You'll have to say you were switching energy companies for your four year old son as a christmas present too! Instant profit.

Of course he didn't deserve to get screwed over - no one does in these circumstances. But what games is that four year old going to play? Ryse? CoD:Ghosts? Assassins' Creed: 4? I don't think many would support a four year old playing those titles.

It may be unfair of me to judge based on his being a father at 15 and it's certainly unfair to be calling him "inbred" and asking for him to be neutered. But we're not going to get told what games he's bought along with the console and I feel safe in assuming that the four year old will either be enjoying games that are definitely not suitable for a kid that young (in my opinion), or not enjoying any games at all.

I'm sure there's something on XB live and taking a quick glance, there are multiple sports games, while too advanced for kids, you don't have to play a game "right" to enjoy it. Plants vs. zombies, Just Dance and some racing games.

Even if he plays adult games with the kid, so what? As long as he isn't forcing them on the kid, there's not really an issue. Games with a higher age rating don't magically turn your kid into a psychopath or drug addict. If they spend time together playing, then as far as I'm concerned, it's fine.

It's none of our business what they do with the console, or if he did make up a sob story, but the majority seems to judge him anyway, despite knowing nothing about the man.

Yeah, some company did something nice for someone and got some sweet free press out of it (Ok well the cost of an XBone) And people still debating his stupidity or defending the company saying he doesn't deserve it.

The truth is the press jumped on this not so special news story, which in turn was jumped on by gaming websites enjoying a bit of schadenfreude at a young guy who is obviously very thick cos he had a kid young (It really pisses me off at how much this came up in the discussion). All because it is videogame news it creates discussion, clicks and views. The company saw how many views this story got decided to cash in very, very cheaply and come across as good guys you want to buy your games off of. On every level this is a pretty cynical story.

so, erm. this Nigerian prince offered to give me millions of £££ if i just give him my bank details and look after the money for him. seems legit, and he is a prince after all. if it all goes wrong, i guess the bank could give me my money back, and some generous sort will donate me all the money i was promised.yay

Even if he plays adult games with the kid, so what? As long as he isn't forcing them on the kid, there's not really an issue. Games with a higher age rating don't magically turn your kid into a psychopath or drug addict. If they spend time together playing, then as far as I'm concerned, it's fine.

And nor did I ever say they did - I said I personally have issues with a four year old child playing games in which one kills hundreds of people. I don't think it would have a long-term effect, I just don't like the idea that four is considered an acceptable age to witness violence.

>dude does something stupid, everything turns out well for him>ITT: Someone calls for him to be neutered>ITT: More people are outraged that someone got a free thing than when people steal a bunch of said things

There's absolutely no way that anyone in this thread is bitter and petty and saying dumb things because of it. None whatsoever.

And before some sensitive soul calls out the greentext: I'm just trying to match the tone of the thread.

Wow, this thread is filled with some people I'm glad I never have to know in person.

The wording of this NEWS STORY is intentionally slated to make the guy look like a complete idiot, because it's author WANTS everyone to make the guy look like a complete idiot. That's the same conclusion the author came to, and it's the same one he wants YOU to come to.

Congratulations to those of you on being a pack of obedient, predictable jerkasses.

This is not the story of some dipshit who went online, saw a PICTURE of an XBOX ONE, and blindly threw more than $700 at it. This is a man who READ the description well enough to later recall that it actually did state that the pictured item was, itself, a picture. But using his deductive reasoning skills, the things apparently half the folks in this thread utterly lack, he determined that in order to be placed in the Home Electronics category... it had to be a home electronics item.

He probably re-read the damn thing several times and, like any human not entirely jaded and cynical of the world, thought to himself "It's in the electronics category, eBay monitors these sorts of things, and this guy has no negative feedback. It's probably legit." A perfectly reasonable, in naive, assumption to make. Given that he's 19, it's one that I'm even more comfortable believing comes from a place of naivety.

Meanwhile, there's folks here suggesting he be neutered. There's folks here making him out to be the biggest idiot on the face of the Earth. There's folks here actually calling HIM the con, and others who say he shouldn't have even gotten his refund.

The author has gotten his wish. You've all turned the victim of a vicious scam into the villain, condemning him to the same place you condemn rapists, pedophiles, and people who talk in movie theatres in your minds, I'm sure. The man hasn't been REWARDED for anything. He's been singled out by a manipulative media and branded the 'village idiot', so that the lot of you can get riled up and rage at the otherwise PR-laden story of a company doing something nice for someone to make a good name for themselves.

No, he'll be 'that stupid guy who fell for that one scam that once' forever. Sure he got his money back. Sure he got an XBOX ONE for free out of the deal. But everyone will only remember that his naive belief that the world isn't out to screw everyone over got him screwed over to the tune of $700. They'll accuse him of manufacturing the whole debacle himself. They'll accuse him of milking the fact that he has a son (whom he obviously wants to raise to play games, and thus become one of you fine upstanding folks here) to garner sympathy.

And more-over, they'll completely ignore the very genuine surprise and gratitude he showed when CeX decided to put him up on a stage and make an even bigger deal out of his already-humiliating blunder by giving him a free XBOX ONE.

I, on the other hand, am happy for the man.

The moral of this story is that sometimes, good things come out of bad things. Sometimes, just sometimes, the world sees someone do something terrible and does something genuinely good to compensate. Even if the reasons are selfish, as all reasons are, the result was a kind one.

Kindness is the thing this world most desperately lacks. The tone of this article and the comments attached to it are proof enough of that.

[joke]Now, if the kid grows up to play League of Legends... feel free to burn the guy at the stake...[/joke]

if he fell for the so called scam in the year ebay launched, i would feel for the guy. if he fell for the so called scam in when the first xbox launched i would feel for the guy. but it is the year 2013. the scam has been around so long, its elegible to vote.

being nineteen years old and having a four year old kid does not help to paint a picture of a person with a lot of foresight or good judgement at all. buying an xbox for this kid is even more questionable, if he indeed bought it for the kid. a little bit much of an investment for a four year old kid who cant even care about next gen graphics yet, dont you think?

he should get his money back sure. not because he doesnt deserve a lesson, but because its the right thing to do on ebays part. but a free xbox? now that alters the message very much. i read it as this: "if you are too stupid or reckless to apply common sense on the internet in transactions that involve substantial amounts of money, cry, bitch, moan, victimize yourself in the media and a dont forget to include a big cup of "wont someone think of the children!?", then not only will you suffer no losses but free stuff will get shoved into your face because everybody wants to be a saint on christmas"

that is what i see and i think its a very bad thing.

you know why? because there is no free stuff. the employee hours ebay spent on sorting this thing out will be payed by customers. the "free" xbox he got will be payed for by the customers of cex.

And nor did I ever say they did - I said I personally have issues with a four year old child playing games in which one kills hundreds of people. I don't think it would have a long-term effect, I just don't like the idea that four is considered an acceptable age to witness violence.

In what way is any of the story our business at all? If you take issue with people judging this story, why don't you take issue with the fact that there is any story to be told here?

Because I'm disgusted with the assumptions people make about some guy getting a free console, because he got duped.The story here, are the reactions in this thread. Just look at how butthurt people are and how they take it out on some guy they know nothing about - Even worse, how they justify their malcontent.

The article is bullshit. It immediately expresses opinion on some random guy, instead of reporting objectively. The Escapist has apparently turned into a tabloid and people are eating it up, acting like brats. The Gaming community has always had the best and worst people, but this has really brought out the worst.

being nineteen years old and having a four year old kid does not help to paint a picture of a person with a lot of foresight or good judgement at all.

Why is everyone fixating on the fact that he had a kid at 15?He had sex at a young enough age that resulted in a child, how on Earth does that reflect on his character or intelligence when you have no knowledge of the context?

buying an xbox for this kid is even more questionable, if he indeed bought it for the kid. a little bit much of an investment for a four year old kid who cant even care about next gen graphics yet, dont you think?

The XBox is marketed as an entertainment system, not just a gaming console. Sure, his kid might not be playing the latest FPS but that doesn't mean he can't use it for other things. Microsoft have been trying to aim the console at families. My two little cousins, 5 and 11, were given an XBox and a Kinect a few years ago and they love it. They didn't get it for the hardcore gaming experience, I can tell you that.

he should get his money back sure. not because he doesnt deserve a lesson, but because its the right thing to do on ebays part. but a free xbox? now that alters the message very much. i read it as this: "if you are too stupid or reckless to apply common sense on the internet in transactions that involve substantial amounts of money, cry, bitch, moan, victimize yourself in the media and a dont forget to include a big cup of "wont someone think of the children!?", then not only will you suffer no losses but free stuff will get shoved into your face because everybody wants to be a saint on christmas"

that is what i see and i think its a very bad thing.

It was a goodwill gesture so a company could get some cheap publicity. He didn't bitch and moan for a free XBox, he just asked for his money back which, as you said yourself, was the right thing.

you know why? because there is no free stuff. the employee hours ebay spent on sorting this thing out will be payed by customers. the "free" xbox he got will be payed for by the customers of cex.

you knows who pays for his "free" stuff? everybody else.

How exactly are the customers of CeX paying for it?Are they going to hike up their prices to recover the cost of the free console?

To be fair, this is more about the game store wanting some good publicity than about Teen Dad getting a free XBone. Still, I am saddened any time I see such a display of blatant stupidity get rewarded.

It's like one of those news stories where a burglar breaks into someone's house, slips in the kitchen, breaks their arm, and then sues the family that lives there and wins.